The Philippines' unemployment rate decreased to 4.3 percent in January, down from 4.5 percent in the same period last year, as the economy continued to create more jobs to accommodate new entrants to the labor force, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report on Thursday.
The government is moving to safeguard fuel and fertilizer supplies for the sugar industry as the sector enters the most resource-intensive phase of the harvest season.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has directed the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to reduce Passenger Service Charges (PSC) and airport navigation fees in airports operated by the agency.
Universal Robina Corp., the listed food unit of the Gokongwei Group, posted modest revenue growth last year but saw profits ease as unusually high coffee input costs squeezed margins, highlighting how volatile commodity prices continue to challenge food manufacturers.
Economic ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Friday called for urgent de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East, warning that prolonged conflict could ripple across global energy markets and threaten Southeast Asia’s fragile economic recovery.